Title: Murder of Crows
Series: The Others, Book 2
Author: Anne Bishop
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Sensuality Rating: Innocent
Source: bought
Published: March 4, 2014 by Roc
After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.
As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.
Reviewed By: Babs
In a Nutshell: I loved this book. The world and characters the author has created are incredible.
The Set Up: Building on events in book 1, tensions between humans and terra indigene (“the Others”) in Thaisia continue to rise. At the same time Meg Corbyn and Simon Wolfgard are struggling to define their relationship.
Why I Read This Book: I discovered the first book, Written in Red, through a Twitter conversation about another Anne Bishop series.
What I Liked: In my experience, urban fantasy heroines are weapons experts and fighting machines. They also have strong sense of self and some “power”. To me, Meg is a strong urban fantasy heroine even though she may not be a weapons or fighting expert--she has the terra indigene for that! And I think she’s still trying to figure out who she is outside the institution. I believe her mental and emotional strengths (her ability to handle what she “sees”, her determination to survive outside the institution) make up for her lack of physical prowess.
I find Simon’s struggle between his Wolf and his human side so fascinating. He is drawn to Meg and I think wants to be more than friends. At the same time his essential self is Wolf and he can never be human. His internal conflict is palpable—I feel the tug on my heart! He wants to keep Meg safe and I think he knows that may mean he can’t be with her. At the same time she can also harm him however unintentionally! So intense!
I also enjoy learning more about the secondary characters in Lakeside. The other terra indigene, the humans like Lieutenant Montgomery and Dr. Lorenzo, and now more Other communities are being introduced and I think have equally compelling stories. I have a feeling they’re going to be increasingly important as the series continues.
What I Also Liked: Bishop’s writing is top notch in Murder of Crows. There are no unnecessary words used to describe the characters, setting, or action. I feel like every word is important and I want to savor each one. I was describing the story, the world, and the characters to a friend and could have spent our whole lunch talking about it but had to force myself to stop!
I love the world building in this series. The character development is first rate. I found the story progressed and flowed smoothly. There’s build-up to the climax of the book, which is intense. I was on the edge of my seat as I was reading it. I also thought the end was satisfying.
What I Didn’t Like: Dislike is the wrong word here—it’s really dread. The foreshadowing of worse things to come just jumps out at me through the pages. I’m having flashback to the follow-up books to The Black Jewel Trilogy. Any romantic relationship between Meg and Simon seems doomed but I’m holding out hope!
Overall Impression: Fabulous read! I highly recommend both Written in Red and Murder of Crows. I suggest reading Written in Red first if you haven’t read it yet. Actually you should rush to whatever online or brick-and-mortar bookstore you use and buy them both now!
Bab’s Rating:
I adored this book as well and I agree about the foreshadow. I have a feeling things are going to get even more dark and twisted than they already are...Anne Bishop likes to do that.
ReplyDeleteI adore this series already and finally got the other series to see her other world :)
ReplyDeleteWell written review, Babs!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteI loved this book too!
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally I am meeting Anne Bishop tonight! SQUEE!!! She is having a suigning in Sydney, Australia. I am so freaking excited. :D
That's awesome! How was the signing?
DeleteGreat review! Haven't read this series yet, but I loved The Black Jewel trilogy and think Bishop is an incredibly talented writer!
ReplyDeleteTerri @ Alexia's Books and Such...